The Witch Experiment
by JBlaec
Summary: Itexicon has been seized and Mutants have been declared a threat to society and are now being hunted down. In all the mayhem, Merlin is just trying to keep his Coven alive. But when the Coven and another group called the Flock meet, they begin to uncover the dark origins of Itexicon. Have they truly freed themselves from Itexicon's grasp or are they still pawns to a greater good?
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** The Coven has nicknames so here's a list just in case you get confused. Read and enjoy!

Harry - Merlin

Ron - Arthur

Hermione - Guinevere

Neville - Lancelot

Ginny - Morgana

Luna - Nimue

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

In all the cities they've visited so far, Steel City was the worse city they had ever seen. The crime rate was high; the air was overwhelmed with the smell of pollution and decay. The politicians were no better. Much of them were corrupt and deceitful, promising one thing yet doing another. If a cause did not personally enlarge their accounts they showed no interest.

There was no reprieve for the average citizen. The police force was corrupted, if not more so, than the politicians. He quickly learned that most were hired guns, easily swayed with the promise of extra credits added to their bank accounts. It didn't matter where it came from, be it gangs or politicians the crooked cops didn't discriminate.

It was why the crime rate was exceedingly high. Why there was a sense of oppression with little to no hope for the common people. Majority of them were in fact living in poverty. The lucky ones managed to keep their squalid homes in buildings that were nothing more than condemned husks. The older streets were narrowed, shadowed by gleaming skyscrapers and flying cars of the wealthy. And many were cluttered with garbage and other suspicious odors as well as broke down vehicles.

But despite all of the city's faults, and there were plenty still unsaid, it was safe for him and his friends; at least for now. The neighborhood they were currently making their home was nearly abandoned, a forgotten corner of a time long passed. The vagabonds outnumbered the few residents that still dared to live in the crumbling buildings. To an outsider, it would appear that the neighborhood was practically a ghost town. The residents knew better.

As more people packed their belongings and left for a better part of Steel City, or the city altogether, others moved into their places. Beings that even the most hardened gang members were hesitant to cross. The homeless and residents were all too aware of their existence and feared them immensely. They slept fitfully knowing there were "dangerous" beings lurking in the shadows.

Beings like him, Mutants. By an unspoken agreement the people and the Mutants lived on opposite sides of the neighborhood. The main road that led into the impoverished buildings was the imaginable borderline. The residents kept to themselves; as did the Mutants. But the normal people always returned home before nightfall. The chance of running into a Mutant increased the moment the sun set behind the horizon.

Had it been any other city, the police force would have already sent in a specialized force to apprehend the Mutant vagabonds. But since the justice system was as corrupt as the criminals, the Mutants could live unbothered. It also helped that the people were more so afraid of cops and gangs than they were of Mutants, but only barely.

The media didn't paint him and the others in a pretty picture. There was always news of Mutants destroying cars, streets, even whole buildings that would lead to the deaths of many people. In turn the people would retaliate, playing the victim and the Mutants the villains that threatened the "American Way of Life". And like true politicians, many of them fed and bolstered the fear of the people, just so that their own agenda could be furthered.

Of course this was just speculation on him and the Coven's part. There was no way to prove the sincerity, or lack thereof, of the elected officials outside Steel City. But as passed experienced has shown him, there was no low a person with power would sink to, to gain more power.

In his opinion, the people were nothing but hypocrites and now he cared little about their lives. Not when they so easily captured or killed the lives of others like him. He would never understand the minds of them. One moment the people want to help the Mutants readjust to life outside of Itexicon, and the next they were a danger to mankind and should be dealt with the utmost severity.

The young man's eyes alighted in a searing white-blue color in anger, scaring off a trio of homeless men, before he quickly calmed himself. He took a deep breath and released his frustration in a heavy sigh. It was difficult keeping a level head. His powers were nearly impossible to control once anger got the better of him; and he was always angry.

Some would think he was jaded, viewing the world from only one point of view. But if they saw it as he did, maybe the humans would understand a Mutant's plight. For not only did Mutants have to worry about the government, they had to worry about themselves as well. Many of the Mutants had abilities that were hard to control when the person was calm; never mind when the Mutant is angry or scared. Add in that most Mutants were under the age of fifteen then it was no wonder why there were a lot of property damage when Mutants were attacked.

The normal people (the Coven referred to them as Muggles) didn't understand, they thought he was just a "pyromaniac" that took a thrill in setting buildings and cars aflame. They thought he was nothing but a fire demon.

Thunder rumbled in the distance seconds after streaks of lightning cut through the air. With another strong gust of wind, the young man hunched in on himself and held the plastic bag closer to his chest.

It was beginning to turn into a bitter night. Low dark clouds rolled over the bustling city since the early morning and it was now that he felt the first of cold raindrops against his exposed skin.

The Mutant was a tall young man, standing at a height of six-feet-two-inches, long limbs with a thin build. Shaggy black hair fell over his green eyes and he had an abnormal amount of old scars littering across his skin. The most peculiar one was in the shape of a lightning bolt located on his forehead. He had no memory of when he retained the scar; then again many things were still fuzzy from his years at School.

Another anomaly about him was that he didn't know his real name. The ones that kept him and the others locked up never gave them one. To the Whitecoats, he was only seen as an experiment number; property to the company. It wasn't until he turned eleven when a nice Whitecoat named Charity read the Coven a book on Arthurian legends. He liked the name Merlin and so that was what he decided to call himself. The others also had names taken from the Arthurian legends.

It was the only fond memory Merlin had of the School. Charity wasn't just another masked Whitecoat that saw him as just another experiment. She saw them as individuals. It was too bad she disappeared without a trace never to be seen again. He tried not to wonder what happened to her; he had enough nightmares as is.

Shaking his head of depressing thoughts, Merlin continued to walk down the vacant street. With each step more and more rain droplets would pelt the concrete or his head. Finally, Merlin came up to a three-story apartment building built on a corner just as the rain began to fall in sheets.

"Lucky timing." he muttered. He walked up the stone steps and passed the front doors. The doors had long since broken off their hinges and the walls were littered with graffiti and what looked like bullet holes. His nose scrunched up in disgust when the faint scent of urine and feces reached him. He had a keen sense of smell and the first time he and his Coven smelt the place they nearly lost their stomachs. Poor Lance actually did.

Slowly and carefully the young man trekked up the creaking stairs to the second floor. The odors of this floor weren't as retched as the floor below; really that didn't mean much. Merlin walked down the narrow hallway until he reached a door with chipped, green, paint and old metal writing displaying "2D" onto the front door. The black haired man gave the special knock and shifted from one foot to the other impatiently.

A few moments later the door creaked open and there stood another young man in the doorway. He had shaggy, ginger hair, blue eyes, and many freckles that dotted his face and arms...and chest. The green eyed teenager rolled his eyes. "Arthur, why are you shirtless...again?" he pointed out, tiredly.

The other Mutant, Arthur, smiled sheepishly and stepped aside for Merlin to walk through. Once more Merlin rolled his eyes. Arthur had a thing for taking off his shirts as soon as he enters their current place of stay. He didn't like to wear shirts, nor sweaters or clothes in general. If he could get away with it, Arthur would have walked around in the nude. He almost succeeded once before Merlin levitated him to the ceiling and stuck him there for nearly three hours.

"Are the others here yet?"

"Guinevere and Morgana got here half an hour ago. Lance just arrived a few minutes before you did. I came after the girls. And Nimue was just on the roof, she wanted to see if the wind could make her fly."

Merlin smiled softly at the mention of Nimue's antics but sobered quickly when he saw the troubled look on his friend's face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, alarmed. "Did something happen to one of the others?"

"No, everyone is fine." Arthur quickly placated the young man. He leaned close and whispered in the other's ear. "I saw another undercover fed drive by today. I think they know Mutants have moved into the neighborhood."

Merlin frowned and muttered "Fuck" under his breath.

That meant another snatcher raid was coming. It shouldn't have surprised him. But it did. Ironically, because of its corrupt system, Steel City was one of the safer cities for Mutants to reside without the fear of Snatchers; a unique force and specializing in capturing Mutants. Merlin supposed it was only a matter of time before the national government overruled the city's own bureaucracy. He just wished it happened later, when they were ready to move on.

The newly elected president was keeping his promise and taking a no-nonsense approach against the "Mutant Epidemic". "We'll have to make sure everything is packed then. We're going to leave tomorrow, before sunrise."

"You think they'll attack that quickly?"

"I don't wanna hang around to find out. Just don't tell the others, we'll let them know after we finish eating."

Arthur gave a curt nod and plopped himself onto the floor. He stared longingly at the plastic bag in Merlin's hands. Merlin snorted and once more wondered why he made Arthur his second-in-command. Ignoring his friend's antics Merlin called out to the rest of the Coven. "Guys, I brought food!" He lifted the bag up triumphantly.

The remaining coven members filed out of the two rooms and into what would be considered the living room. Guinevere was the first to reach Merlin and Arthur, bushy brown hair and brown eyes. Followed by Arthur's sister, Morgana, she had the same ginger color hair, brown eyes, and freckles. Nimue smiled serenely up at the Coven leader with her stranger silver eyes. Her dirty-blond hair was tied back with a knobby stick, and she had a necklace made of bottle caps. Finally there was Lancelot; he preferred to be called Lance. He was the same height as the other boys, with shaggy blond hair and brown eyes.

Merlin noticed that the other two also had to push their hair back from their eyes. Any day now, Guinevere was going to threaten them with a pair of scissors in her hand. Merlin shuddered, he hated haircut day.

The six coven-mates sat in a circle, and Merlin took out simple cheeseburgers and passed one to each of them. The five members thanked the young man for the food before scarfing it down their throats. It was the first time any of them had ever eaten that day. The Coven could survive days without food, they've done it before. But Merlin preferred not to put his Coven through the same torture the Whitecoats put them through at The School.

The burgers were gone in minutes and it did little to sate their hunger, only pacified. Merlin knew, from the amount of time the Whitecoats talked about them, the Coven required more food than the average Muggle did. As such, food and water were more precious to them but was harder to come by because of their Mutant status.

More often than not, Merlin and the others would have to resort to stealing their food and supplies. They usually had no money (they had to steal that too) and didn't have a permanent residence or even real names, only letters and numbers tattooed on their left forearms. Needless to say, getting a job was impossible for Mutants.

Zeus gathered the soiled paper wrappings, tossed them into a plastic bag and threw the bag in a far corner of the living room. "Alright, what did everyone get?" he asked around.

"I had to steal more shirts and sweaters." Guinevere spoke. "The others are too tattered after that run in with the Wolf-men last week." She pulled out three pairs of men's shirts and sweaters, and three pairs of women's shirts and sweaters from her backpack. Smiling grimly at the others, she passed the acquired clothing to each respective coven-mate. Guinevere hated stealing, Merlin was aware of this, but they didn't have the luxury of buying their necessities.

"I got two pairs of shoes for Merlin and Lance. Try not to destroy these so quickly this time." Artemis said humorously to Lance. "I had to outrun an abnormally athletic security guard at the mall." Lance's face lightly flushed and he took the shoes with grace. Merlin's lips twitched in bemusement.

Lancelot was the fastest runner of the Coven. And when Merlin meant fast he meant really fast, as in it should be impossible for a Muggle to run at such speeds. It almost looked like the other boy was flying at times. Unfortunately this caused him to wear out his shoes more often than the others; which meant more stealing. At this point Merlin was sure they had wanted pictures at every major mall in the New England area. A small part of him couldn't help but feel smug at their unbreakable track record.

"I also got jeans for everyone and thick socks. Hopefully these can last us all winter."

Merlin congratulated his friend but mentally frowned. He hated winter, especially since they were on the east coast. For normal, non-Mutant people, it was a time of snowball fights, Christmas shopping, singing jolly music, badly, and at night sitting cozy in a warm house with family and friends.

That wasn't the case with the Coven. Winter was a time of strife and hardship. And while they had their aura to protect them from the freezing snow and ice, it was still difficult to survive. Last winter was particularly bad; they'd nearly lost Arthur to a horrible fever. The Whitecoats had injected them with hundreds of different formulas but never thought to give them vaccines. Go figure.

They were lucky that Guinevere and Nimue were excellent at using their auras for healing. "We'll have to get new jackets as well, I think everyone outgrew theirs from last winter." said Merlin. "Lance, what did you get?"

"I got some toiletries, some fruit snacks that can last us awhile; I nicked some fruit seeds like you asked." he smiled secretly while he dug into his backpack. "And I also managed to get a bunch of bananas for desert!" Lance proudly held up the bananas.

Merlin chuckled and applauded with the rest of his Coven and Lance blushed deeply with a smile on his face. He passed around the bananas and luckily there was enough for each member to get two. It was certainly helped satisfy their appetites more. Merlin ate the sweet tasting fruit in relish. Before the Breakout, he had never imagined food could taste so flavorful, much less some of them being so sweet.

Arthur went next. He told everyone how he managed to steal over-the-counter medicines for the upcoming cold and flu season. A good thing too, since they nearly lost him in the last season and did not want a repeat with any other coven-mate. Just because they had heightened senses and extra abilities, it didn't make them less susceptible to common illnesses. And even if Guinevere and Nimue could heal wounds and fevers, there was a possibility that they couldn't heal another sickness. He'd rather err on the side of caution.

Unfortunately, Nimue didn't find anything that would benefit the Coven and so she spent the day at Arden Park picking flowers and watching nargles buzz around people's ears. To this day, none of the others knew what a nargle was but went along with her anyway.

Nimue had a very unique way of viewing the world and was sometimes hard to understand. She wasn't always like this. When they were younger, she was fairly normal; as normal as a locked up Mutant kid could get anyway. It wasn't until the Whitecoats did something to her in one of their procedures that she became this way.

The Whitecoats and even other Mutants used to make fun of her, either behind her back or to her face. Nimue would simply brush it off and skip away. No matter how many headaches Nimue would cause, the Coven liked the new way she viewed the world. It was different, nearly childlike one moment and scarily wise the next.

Moving on, Merlin himself had a good run, as he managed to steal books on building cottages and modern tree-houses as well as steal up to a number of cards from people's wallets. The credits in each would be transferred to the blank one they used when they had credits; hence how he was able to acquire the cheeseburgers. It was small luck that Muggles were unobservant. He passed the stolen cards and their blank one to Arthur as he was the expert when it came to technology.

With business out of the way, the Coven was able to enjoy their bananas. Jokes and laughter filled the room in a rare moment of contentment. Guinevere even pulled up an old radio to play some pop music. And for just a few minutes, the Coven acted like normal teenagers without the weight of the world crushing their backs. He only wished they could do it more often.

Merlin sighed, everyone was in a good mood and he hated to be the one to ruin it. But it couldn't be pushed back any further, they were potentially in danger. He cleared his throat and the jubilant mood came to a crashing end. With one look on his face, the others tensed up. Guinevere hastily turned off the radio and the room reverted back to heavy silence.

He kinda wished the stupid song was still playing now."I want everyone to pack up whatever belongings you have around the apartment into your backpack. We leave Steel City before dawn, tomorrow." The others, with the exception of Arthur, leaned back in shock.

"But I thought we weren't going to leave the city until the end of winter." Lance stated, puzzled. "What's changed?"

"Arthur spotted a fed drive down the block. I know winter is around the corner, but we don't have a choice. The other Mutants will start to take notice and will begin to leave in waves. It'll be better for all of us if we leave before the others. I don't want to get caught in another Snatcher Raid."

The Coven, shuddered. The last raid was still fresh in their minds even though it happened a little over eight months ago. They were in Huron, Michigan for only a week when Snatchers came barreling like a train. Luckily, the Coven managed to escape from their grasps. But the images they saw them doing to the unfortunate Mutants...it was just another event that would haunt Merlin for the rest of his life.

"Remember, if we're somehow split up, meet up underneath Jefferson Bridge. We'll wait for twenty-four hours before heading to Connecticut. Understand?" There were mumbled replies of yeses. "Good, get some sleep, I'll take the first watch."

The six teenagers gathered their new and old belongings and stuffed them into backpacks. Guinevere, with a wave of a hand, extinguished the white-blue, flame-like lights flickering above their heads and casted the room into darkness. Each of the coven-mates said their good nights and went to their respective rooms; girls in one and boys in the other.

The doors closed softly behind the young Mutants and Merlin was left alone in the living room. He groaned wearily and arched his back until he heard a loud popping noise. Shaking loose his muscles, he padded silently over to the dirty window and gazed out into the pouring rain.

Merlin could hear the faint sound of cars driving, and sirens. Like all metropolises, Steel City never slept. He couldn't wait to get out of the city and to a place that was quieter and smelled better.

It was why he stole books on building houses, why Lance took more seeds for growing fruits and vegetables. Even Morgana had a book or two on hunting. Guinevere had more useful knowledge and had an eidetic memory when it came to books and remembered everything she ever read. Everyone was helping in their own way. They all knew they couldn't hide in the slums of cities for the rest of their lives. The Snatchers were getting better and sooner or later, the Coven would be caught, and be dragged to a new kind of hell.

Merlin wasn't going back, not to the School or the government's custody. And he would be damned if any of his coven-mates were captured too. It was why they were slowly making their way through the states from city to city. They've been on the run for two years now since Itexicon was seized and shut down. And nearly two years since the government declared Mutants as a national threat to security.

After the Breakout, Mutants fled in all directions, and there were too many for the government forces to catch. The Coven was in a School right in the middle of New York City; they escaped through a series of unused subway tunnels. It was only after wandering aimlessly for weeks starving, did the government open up foster buildings to tend to the Mutants and maybe reunite some with lost family members.

It was nice at first. It was the first time the Coven slept on beds, had warm showers, and eaten more than one meal a day. But then it slowly changed, not their living arrangements but the building. Bars were added to the windows, doors were locked. They were even setting up electric fences. But before that could happen, Merlin and the Coven made havoc (something they specialize now) and set free all the mutants in the building.

The Muggles no longer felt sympathy or pity for Mutants, but fear. Since then the Coven traveled city to city, slum to slum, and ran into both Wolf-men, old security guards of the School, and Snatchers alike.

It was only after the last Snatcher Raid, did they come up with the idea to live in seclusion of nature; outside the United States. Canada was the closest country and, luckily for the Coven, was neutral on the Mutant Epidemic. Which was as good as they were going to get.

Merlin would have moved the Coven up to Canada right now if it wasn't for the encroaching winter. The first snowfall was said to come the following week and there was no way Merlin and the Coven were going to travel through the bitter cold. They'd have to wait until spring. Of course they were planning to tough it out in the slums of Steel City, but now that wasn't an option.

The coven-leader held his palm out in front and watched, with little fascination, as white-blue "flames" hovered over his skin. It was like fire in some ways, and drastically different in others. It burned when he was angry, but was soothing when he was calm. Nimue used hers once to heal a cut that needed stitches on Morgana; by accident. With it, they could heal through touch, and their body temperature was higher than others; Merlin swore he flew across a room once.

The Whitecoats called their strange fire-like powers aura. Guinevere later explained it dealt with manipulating the energy found within them; whatever that meant.

The young man closed his fist to extinguish his aura, settled back against the windowsill, and prepared himself for what was going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Finally here's Chapter 2! First I want to thank all who read, favorite, or followed my story. Hope you enjoy the direction I'm taking this. Secondly, I rewritten parts of Chapter 1 as I wasn't completely satisfied with some parts and wanted to make some scenes more relevant to the overall plot. So if you've read Chapter 1 before it's probably a good idea to reread it again so you won't be a little lost with this chapter. Read and enjoy!

Warning: Mild and/or explicit bloody scenes and minor character death.

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

BOOM!

The entire building shook violently. Ceiling particles fell in sheets; the old floors creaked and cracked. Some of the windows shattered to thousands of pieces. The dark sky was alighted with roaring fire; a building engulfed in flames. Screams of children of all ages filled the night, but steadily was drowned out by marching and sounds of laser guns.

Within seconds the Coven scrambled up from their spots on the floor. Lance ran into the boy's room, face stricken with horror. "Snatchers!" he yelled.

"Shit, get your stuff, we leave now!"

Merlin swung his backpack over his shoulder and ran over to the girl's room. Another explosion shook the old apartment building and pieces of plaster fell from the ceiling. The floors creaked loudly under each step. He busted into the other room and saw the girls already had their backpacks slung on. "Snatchers!"

Without pausing, the six teenagers ran across the living room but temporarily lost their bearings when yet another explosion rocked the apartment building. The rusted metal groaned loudly under the strain. Sections of the floors began to cave in to the floor below.

"Everyone okay?" the following groans and head nods appeased Merlin and he bade them out the front door.

The Coven ran down the crumbling hallway alongside other mutants that lived there. Merlin's anger spiked when he noticed that the oldest was probably twelve years old. _Bastards!_ Another explosion, this one much closer, brought the Mutants to their knees and left their ears ringing.

Merlin was curled up on his side and could only hear the muted sounds of the others panicking. His body ached and his head was starting to throb painfully. The other Mutants were no better. The smaller ones were crying, others were sprawled on the floor groaning in pain. Groaning in pain, Merlin pushed himself onto his hands and knees and crawled over to the rest of the Coven.

He felt the building lurch underneath him and he fell flat on his stomach. Parts of the ceiling gave way and collapsed onto the less fortunate Mutants, burying them instantly. Merlin swallowed bile and felt his stomach churn violently. Frantically he checked over his friends and found them all responsive and in okay shape. The ringing in his ears finally stopped and he was able to hear sounds of screaming children and yelling Snatchers.

Merlin breathed a small amount of relief when his entire Coven was able to stand on their own feet. "Get the younger ones out back to the sewers." Without waiting for replies, Merlin ran up to a Mutant with green skin and red eyes with a badly damaged leg. He scooped up the young boy up into his arms and led the Mutants down the stairs.

They managed to finally get to ground floor and saw more mutants cowering alongside the walls and alcoves. Merlin saw a few older ones closer to his age and quickly made his way to one that looked like a normal person. "Get as many of the younger ones as you can and lead them to the back!"

"We can't, the Snatchers put down explosives!"

"They're trying to lead us out the front door!" another one yelled.

"Merlin, what are we going to do?"

All the Mutants looked over to Merlin; grimy faces filled with fear. Merlin ran a hand through his hair and swore under his breath. He handed the Mutant in his arms to one of the older ones and looked over to Arthur.

Arthur had a contemplative look on his face and gnawed at his lower lip. "We don't know how many explosives are in the alleyway. And, no offense, but you're not skilled enough to lift things individually."

"None taken, so what's our options?"

"Anybody here can lift things with their minds?" No one raised a hand. "Of course not." Arthur sighed. "Okay, we'll have to go out the front door."

"But that's what they want us to do!"

"They'll shoot us with lasers!"

"I don't wanna go back to School!"

"Calm down! I don't like it either but it's the only option we have. If we stay here, they'll just catch us and lock us up or worse!" yelled Morgana.

"Those that have long ranging powers get behind me. Everyone stay close, older ones carry the younger ones until we get away from the Snatchers!"

Merlin's eyes glowed a fiery white-blue light; some of the Mutants flinched away. Merlin marched down the hallway and stopped just shy of the crumbling doorway. From his vantage point he could see a number of Snatchers lined up on the street pointing their guns at the building. Beyond that, the neighborhood looked like a warzone. Entire buildings were burning and provided light to the dark sky.

A number of burnt bodies lay on the sidewalks and there were many more Mutants running and screaming. Snatchers chased after them and shot them with red lasers, meaning they were set to stun. Large tank-like vehicles hovered down the streets and the Mutants that were caught were shoved into the cargo holds.

He flinched when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He looked over to see Arthur give him an encouraging nod and squeezed his shoulder for luck. Taking a deep breath, Merlin walked out the front door.

"Freeze!" one of the masked Snatchers bellowed. The entire squad lifted their weapons to the Mutant on top of the stoop. Merlin held his hands out to the side. "Now raise your hands and keep them up!"

Merlin gave the Snatchers a menacing smile. He raised his hands and watched as the Snatchers were banished violently into a brick wall. "Now!" he bellowed.

Different colors of fires shot at the dumbfounded Snatchers as Mutants charged out of the crumbling building with battle cries. A few of them with dragonfly wings flew up into the sky and chuck acid balls at vehicles.

"Open fire!" one of the Snatchers ordered. Still set to stun, red lasers shot at the charging Mutants. But with a wide sweep of his arm the lasers veered off course pelted unsuspecting Snatchers. The Snatchers were force to move back as none of their shots were hitting the Mutants.

Now on the offensive, Merlin raised his hands above his head. Snatchers, debris, and even a destroyed car were lifted into the air. Feeling incredulous eyes on him, Merlin looked over his shoulders and snarled. "Don't just stand there! Fight the others!" He grunted under the heavy strain and with a mighty push, Merlin banished the floating objects and people to the other side of the street.

Gaining the attention of more Snatchers, Merlin sent a torrent of aura at the masked individuals and kept them at bay. "Guinevere!"

Nodding, Guinevere leapt onto the roof of the nearest car and made her entire body glow in aura. Her eyes were bright and her hair whipped around making her look like an alien warrior. She took a steady stance and formed a few fireballs. With a battle cry of her own, she sent the flames at the assault vehicles.

"Lance!" The boy inclined his head and with lightning speed ran at the nearest group of Snatchers and confiscated their guns. He wasn't the only speedster to do so, a number of others followed Lance's example and took weapons of their own. Not all of them were so lucky and the unfortunate few were shot at with green lasers. They were dead before their bodies hit the ground.

"Everyone with a gun open fire!" he roared. Their guns were still set to stun, but Merlin left it alone. He didn't want the younger ones to become killers.

Leading the war party, Merlin and the Mutants ran out into the open street. The acid-throwers flew above the heads of the Mutants and threw hissing globs of acid in the middle of the street, creating potholes. One was shot with a green laser and she dropped to the ground with a sickening crack. Enraged, the acid-throwers increased their firing at the Snatchers.

Arthur emitted a roar and shot aura charges at the assault vehicles. Merlin swept both arms to his left and watched as an assault vehicle flip end over end crushing other vehicles and Snatchers alike before exploding in a huge fireball.

Slowly but surely, the Mutants were pushing the Snatchers back. Merlin alternated between sending telekinetic attacks and forming telekinetic shields. Lance and Arthur were by his side sending their own fiery attacks while protecting Merlin. Likewise, Nimue and Morgana, along with many others, created a protective ring around the smaller children. Guinevere was in the far back creating her own brand of hell against the straggling Snatchers that were behind them.

As the Mutants continued their assault on the Snatchers, more Mutants came out of the crumbling apartments and joined the battle. One boy with immense strength managed to pick up a destroyed assault vehicle and threw it at the Snatchers. Another one, with rock-like skin, charged passed the other Mutants and rammed into multiple Snatcher vehicles. The rocky mutant managed to upturn a cargo vehicle before she fell under the onslaught of green lasers.

Once more, Merlin sent a wave of telekinetic force at the opposing party but was clipped in the shoulder with a red laser. His right arm was numb and the shield he erected was beginning to crumble. Before he could warn the others, a Mutant that looked to be his age but shorter jumped in front of Merlin. He opened his mouth and emitted a sonic scream. The Mutants covered their ears and the Snatchers dropped their weapons and watched helplessly as they were ripped to pieces. Windows shattered and the Snatchers closest were blown off their feet. The Screamer didn't stop until nearly all the weapons of the Snatchers were destroyed.

For a few seconds the Mutants and Snatchers stared at the destroyed weapons on the asphalt with varying degrees of disbelief. Merlin looked up and could almost see the fear in the Snatchers eyes. They shifted uneasily on their feet and pulled out electric shock batons. Merlin traded astonished looks with the Sonic-screamer and Arthur. "Charge!"

The acid-throwers dive-bombed, jumpers leapt onto the Snatchers and the speedsters ran into the masked assailants. Merlin rushed a few Snatchers and banished them high into the air. He delivered a roundhouse kick to a Snatcher, charged with a bit of telekinetic force, and watched her fly into a lamp post. He punched another one ten feet into the air.

One of the super-strength Mutants punched the ground and brought the Snatchers closest to them to their knees. A pair of twin Mutants with snake-like tails whipped Snatchers back and forth and managed to dance around the wielding batons. A few of the other Mutants ripped the cargo hold doors. Morgana and Arthur, along with a few other Mutants, went into the vehicle and carried out disoriented Mutants.

The Sonic-screamer sent sound blasts to the nearest vehicles with so much force it fell onto its side crushing a few Snatchers. White-blue aura missiles streaked the sky and intercepted the bombs launched from the Muggles. Another group of Mutants overturned another cargo vehicle and busted out the captured Mutants.

Merlin delivered another telekinetic punch and watched the man fly thirty feet back. For a brief moment, Merlin allowed himself to believe they were going to win. The Snatchers were being pushed back and more Mutants were joining the fight. Mutants were being freed and the Snatchers didn't have enough weapons to subdue all of them. Hope started to bloom; he thought they would make it out of the raid.

But then he heard in the distance the sound of heli-jets flying low. His heart stopped beating, and his stomach felt like it was filled with led. The other Mutants heard the noise too and stopped attacking the fleeing Snatchers. They all looked skyward and stared in horror at the four heli-jets flying low.

One of the Mutants yelled "Run!" and the Mutants scrambled in all directions. Merlin was pushed and shoved as he frantically called out for his friends. He heard the jets approaching and Merlin ran faster for his life. His heart thundered, his blood was pumping and all he could feel was terror. He tripped over a body of a Mutant and nearly threw up. Half its head had blown apart.

The roaring engines were getting louder and he still couldn't find any of his coven-mates. His voice was drowned out in the mayhem and screaming. The jets were above them, red and green lasers rained down on the retreating Mutants.

Bombs exploded, sending plumes of debris and body parts into the air. The stench of burnt bodies, fresh blood, and smoke was overwhelming. Merlin's eyes watered, he gagged and his skin felt hot from the fires. He tried sending his aura to the jets but couldn't concentrate. He was overcome with fear and all he wanted to do was run.

A bomb exploded in an apartment building close to him. He and many others were thrown off their feet and he landed painfully on the jagged asphalt. He couldn't hear anything, not even the ringing in his ears. His muscles throbbed painfully and he felt something warm trickle down his back. With the last bit of strength Merlin pushed himself up onto his hands.

Bodies were strewn about in awkward positions. Some of the Mutants were moving others weren't. One of them was the same little Mutant he held earlier; his red eyes staring vacantly up to the red-orange sky. Merlin didn't know if it was blood or tears running down his face. His eyes felt like they were burning, but so did the rest of his face. He still couldn't hear and he was in too much pain to move. Merlin felt another tremor and looked up in time to see a building fall on him.

* * *

A sleek limousine cruised through the metropolitan traffic. With special flags flapping in the wind off the antennas, the driver had special privilege to take routes explicitly for high ranking government officials. Therefore avoiding the traffic altogether. Behind the partition was a slim man that rather looked like an old lion with gray streaks in his tawny hair. He had yellowish eyes and a pair of spectacles that rested on the bridge of his nose. Propped next to him was his walking cane.

His name was Rufus Scrimgeour and he was the newly appointed director of the Mutant Task Force. Scrimgeour was currently viewing the morning news on his tablet with a grim face. The early morning raid in Steel City had made national headlines. There were numerous video feeds of men and women literally battling Mutants. The situation was now under control, but the neighborhood was destroyed and the death toll was too high for Scrimgeour's liking.

It was the first raid under his tenure and it ended in a violent bloodbath. The city was in lockdown, the governor had even declared a state of emergency. And from what he last saw, there were still fires that needed to be put out. Scrimgeour's lips thinned with displeasure. The raid had certainly not gone as planned. He didn't want a full scale war right in the middle of a metropolis.

The Mutants had scattered like roaches and the Task Force suffered hundreds of thousands of credits in damages. This was not how he wanted to start is new position. The last thing he wanted was to make the people panic more. The Pro-Mutant organizations were already calling for his resignation, not that those factions fazed him. If they did, then he didn't deserve to be the director of the Mutant Task Force.

But what did trouble him was the sudden request to meet with the President. He'd receive a phone call only minutes after the conclusion of the raid. The director knew better than to turn down such a "request" and so here he was, flying through the skyscrapers to the White House.

He turned off his tablet as the limousine descended until it reached the visitors entrance. He waited with little patience as his driver traded small talk with the security before they waived his vehicle in. It was only a few moments later that the limo came to a slow stop in front of the historical building. Scrimgeour felt the landing gear deploy and the limo landing deftly onto the ground. He only had to wait a moment when the door was opened for him by his driver.

Scrimgeour stuck out his cane then pushed himself up onto his feet. He barely spared his driver a glance before proceeding up the steps to the White House. The door opened for him and Scrimgeour made his way through the security checkpoints. He tapped his foot impatiently throughout the whole ordeal and was finally allowed through.

He was led by a young attendant through the building and did not participate in any small talk. After a few failed attempts, the attendant wisely kept his mouth shut and led the stern man through the halls. Despite the limp, Scrimgeour kept at a brisk pace and showed no signs of discomfort.

Before long, the attendant brought the director to the closed a closed door. Scrimgeour assumed it was the entrance to the Oval Office. The attendant knocked politely and poked his head inside the office. The director heard muffled voices trade between the attendant and, presumably, the president. He rolled his eyes skyward and sighed irritably. His patience was nonexistent this morning. There was plenty to do back in his office that could not be pushed off. He wanted the meeting with the president done and over with.

Finally the attendant pulled back from the office and gave the director a nervous smile; the older gentleman raised a bushy brow. "The President will see you now."

The director gave a curt not and without hesitation pushed passed the flustered young man and into the Oval Office. The door shut closed behind him and without pause Scrimgeour walked across the office and sat himself down at the vacant chair in front of the desk.

The president smiled in amusement. He continued to sign away some official documents and once more Scrimgeour was made to wait. _Politicians._ He nearly rolled his eyes. After a few minutes of silence, the president laid down his pen and leaned back in his was every bit the politician.

The president had neatly cropped black hair with a beard that had a silver streak. His skin was fair and his eyes were dark.

"Mr. President." Scrimgeour greeted evenly.

"Really Rufus, surely we're better acquainted than that." the president smirked.

"Well the last time we spoke, you were running for presidency...Pius."

"Has it been that long?"

"More or less." Silence descended onto the duo. Scrimgeour huffed in irritation, the man before him was always the dramatic fellow. Leading the country hadn't seemed to dampen his theatrics. _Politicians._ "There is a reason why I was "requested" if I am not mistaken."

"You're not."

Once more silence. Scrimgeour huffed in irritation. "Well?"

To Scrimgeour's annoyance, the president chuckled. "You always were rather impatient." he recalled fondly. "Being the director certainly hasn't changed you much."

"Well it gave me a few extra gray hairs." he drawled.

The president chuckled once again. "But it didn't curb your dry wit." His face smoothed and the jovial atmosphere evaporated. "You are of course aware of what transpired in Steel City earlier this morning?"

"Yes." the director replied carefully. "I was kept up to date by the captain."

"Then I don't need to explain to you what I saw on the morning news, what the whole country and possibly the world saw?"

"No...believe me when I say I had no idea it would escalate to a full on battle."

"Neither did I. The last thing people need to see are young _defenseless_ Mutants being killed by masked men and women."

"Defenseless!" Scrimgeour sputtered. "Perhaps we were viewing different events. Those _Mutants_ were anything but defenseless! They killed thirty or so hard working men and women before the heli-jets flew over and scattered them!"

"Exactly and that is just what the Republic saw." the president looked quite pleased.

The director's brow furrowed. "I'm afraid I don't follow."

"For two years there has been this fear of the capabilities the Mutants possibly possessed. And while preemptive measures have been taken, the Pro-Mutant organizations had rally for their so-called rights. But today we finally saw what Mutants are capable of. They are as dangerous as we feared.

"The media has showed the unprovoked strike against the Task Force all morning. The people are finally realizing the national threat we have here."

"And how do you explain away the bombs we first ignited?"

"As far as the public is aware of, the bombs only ignited after the Mutants attacked." Pius waived off. "You've done good work, Rufus. Finally we have a director who isn't afraid to get dirty. You've shown the country what monsters they truly are."

"I can't take all the credit. A monster will always be a monster whether it's in sheep's clothing or not."

"I concur, which is why I will personally see to it that the budget is increased."

"Increase the budget?"

"We have been presented with a lucrative opportunity, Rufus. For the first time in recent history our country can unify against a real threat; one right on our very soil. The Mutants have declared war on mankind and we will respond tenfold.

"You will have more men and women joining the cause in honor of the thirty or so who gave their lives to protect the livelihoods of innocent citizens."

"How patriotic of you." the director responded dryly.

"In times of war, even the most cynical will be patriotic. They may not respect the war, but they'll respect the troops who'll lay their lives down."

"While that sounds well and profitable, you are forgetting we are going against murderous science experiments. I will need more than just a bigger army."

"Believe me; I already have plans in motion. In no time at all, we will have our very own specialize army to tackle the Mutant Epidemic."

"Hmm."

"Don't tell me you want to back down, director? War is a very lucrative business and it'll give our economy the boost it needs."

"Spoken from one whom has never fought in wars firsthand."

The president cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. "Yes, well...like it or not Rufus, we're now at war. This time it is not in some far away third world country, it is here on our own soil. Now if you're not up to it, I can always find a replacement and you can retire with full benefits."

The director snorted. "Good luck finding another one with a strong stomach."

The president chuckled. "So I take it, you're in agreement?"

Scrimgeour sighed heavily. As much as he disliked his words, Pius was right. It was the first time Mutants fought back with a vengeance. And if a couple hundred Mutants can cause that much damage, what could a thousand or more do? Despite the meticulous order of files Itex had, there still wasn't an exact number of Mutants. This unknown variable worried him. He'd seen the footage of the one that had telekinetic abilities. What if there were more like it, but stronger?

He hated war; he didn't thirst for one like Pius. But he knew what had to be done and he'd be damn if he stepped down and let some softhearted politician take his position. "We are in agreement, Pius."

"Excellent!"

The president opened one of the cabinet doors and pulled out two crystal glasses and a bottle of medium colored liquor. Scrimgeour was pretty certain the shelf's original purpose wasn't to hold liquor. Pius poured the two glasses about a third way up and handed one to Scrimgeour. The older man twirled the cup between his fingers with an impassive face.

He looked up to the dark eyes of the president, raised his glass and toasted "To mankind."

The president followed gesture and replied "To the American Republic."

The two glasses clinked together and the gentlemen downed their liquor.


End file.
